Following a partnership between the MLS and La Liga (Spain), on top of a partnership already established with the Fédération Française de Football, MLS Academy directors and coaches with the EFCL (Elite Football Coaching Licence) licence have the opportunity to further their formation with a 10-day program, during which educators will visit well-known academies in world soccer. They will share information with coaches and sporting directors from big international clubs on topics like youth development, scouting and athletic development.
The Academy director Philippe Eullaffroy is representing the Montreal Impact.
Here is his diary.
Monday, May 15 – Aix-en-Provence
We will spend the next two days in one of the Fédération Française de Football’s 14 Pôle Espoirs. These teams aim to develop players aged 13 to 15 before they join professional club academies. It helps the player progress in an elite structure without having to leave his home and his family.
Over 50% of the players from Pôle Espoirs are entering a professional club. In 2016-2017, 20 players from these teams played in the UEFA Champions League. Some also don’t find a professional club after two years, but still come around afterwards. It was the case for Layvin Kurzuwa, at PSG.
We attend a meeting with the Pôle Espoirs Grand Est (Metz, Nancy) manager, Jean Robert Faucher, ex-FC Metz and author of a really good book that inspired many training sessions with our coaches in Montreal.
He talks about his philosophy of play and gives us some examples.
All these teams share together the same programming, but they don’t have the same project of play.
They put in place a survey with 40 questions on the passion of football to evaluate motivation, concentration, self-confidence, self-control, social integration and autonomy in their young players.
Tuesday, May 16 – Aix-en-Provence
We meet with Sylvain Matrisciano, director of Lens’ academy.
He talks about his experience with the pros at Bordeaux, when he was an assistant coach with Willy Sagnol.
He follows by talking about training and the planning, and how it’s important to have everyone on the same page (pros, academy, preacademy, soccer schools) to have the same philosophy.
We watch two sessions with players born in 2003 and 2004. Their level is similar to ours.
The staff was really open and shared their knowledge.
We also noticed that with few resources, they are really efficient. The pedagogy that they used is the one recommended by the FFF.
I loved the little gifts we got at the end of our trip, mostly the box with a local delicacy: calissons d’Aix (which will force me to do three hours of sport per day when I get back in Montreal).
In the beginning of the afternoon, we left for Marseille airport to continue our adventure in Madrid.
Before the flight, only one passenger was searched. It was my colleague from Chicago, who also spent 15 years as the preformation director at PSG. Coincidence? Olympique de Marseille 1, Paris Saint-Germain 0. Perfect score for Marseille.
